Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Select2 VS Preact.js

Compare Select2 VS Preact.js and see what are their differences

Select2 logo Select2

Select2 offers customizable select box with support for searching, tagging, infinite scrolling, and many other used options.

Preact.js logo Preact.js

Preact is a fast 3kB alternative to React with the same modern API. Components & Virtual DOM.
  • Select2 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-25
  • Preact.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-11

Select2 features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Select2 offers a highly intuitive and user-friendly interface, allowing for easy navigation and selection with features like search functionality and nested options.
  • Extensibility
    It is highly customizable and extendable, with numerous configuration options and events that can be tailored to meet specific needs.
  • Tagging Support
    Select2 supports tagging, which enables users to add new items dynamically to a select list, enhancing flexibility and usability.
  • Accessibility
    The plugin is designed with accessibility in mind, ensuring compatibility with screen readers and compliance with accessibility standards.
  • Multiple Selection
    Allows for the selection of multiple items from a list, providing enhanced functionality for use cases requiring multi-select capabilities.

Possible disadvantages of Select2

  • Complex Initialization
    The initialization and configuration of Select2 can be complex, particularly for beginners, due to the numerous options available.
  • Performance Issues
    May experience performance issues with very large datasets, as all items are loaded client-side, potentially slowing down the interface.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a moderate learning curve associated with implementing and customizing Select2, especially for developers unfamiliar with JavaScript and jQuery.
  • Dependency on jQuery
    Select2 relies on jQuery, which may not be ideal for projects that prefer or require modern JavaScript frameworks without jQuery.
  • Limited Native Mobile Support
    Select2 does not naturally support mobile touch interfaces as smoothly as native HTML selects, which may lead to sub-optimal experiences on mobile devices.

Preact.js features and specs

  • Size
    Preact is very small in size (about 3KB gzipped), which makes it easy to load and faster to execute, resulting in improved performance and quicker load times.
  • Compatibility
    Preact is largely compatible with React, allowing developers to switch to Preact with minimal code changes. This makes it easier to adopt for projects already using React.
  • Performance
    Due to its small size and efficient design, Preact offers excellent performance, especially on low-powered devices and in applications with heavy user interactions.
  • Ecosystem
    Preact can work with many tools and libraries that are designed for React, giving developers access to a rich ecosystem of resources.
  • Community
    Preact has an active and growing community that provides support, plugins, and third-party tools, making it easier for developers to find solutions and share knowledge.

Possible disadvantages of Preact.js

  • Feature Set
    While Preact covers most of the core React features, it lacks some of the advanced functionality present in React, which may require additional workarounds or third-party libraries.
  • Learning Curve
    For developers coming from a non-React background, learning Preact might involve a learning curve, particularly because of its similarities and subtle differences with React.
  • Tooling Compatibility
    Although many tools designed for React can work with Preact, some might not be directly compatible, requiring additional configuration or patches.
  • Community Size
    While Preact has a supportive community, it is smaller compared to the massive React community, which can result in fewer available resources and third-party packages.
  • Maturity
    Preact, being newer and less widely adopted than React, might not have the same level of battle-tested reliability for all use cases, especially for large scale applications.

Select2 videos

HCC TV: Teufel System 5 THX Select2 5.1 speaker package review

Preact.js videos

JS frameworks are replaceable

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Select2 and Preact.js)
Javascript UI Libraries
22 22%
78% 78
JavaScript Framework
23 23%
77% 77
Development
100 100%
0% 0
JavaScript
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Select2 and Preact.js

Select2 Reviews

We have no reviews of Select2 yet.
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Preact.js Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
PreactJS is a JavaScript library that is said to be the fast 3Kb alternative to ReactJS using the same modern API. It implements the fastest virtual DOM compared to other frameworks in the market. Moreover, it is one of the smallest libraries in terms of size.
Source: solguruz.com
20 Next.js Alternatives Worth Considering
Preact is like React’s little sibling, smaller in size but with the same familiar moves. It’s cutting down the fluff and zipping through tasks with less overhead. When performance budgets are tight, Preact wiggles in perfectly.
20 Best JavaScript Frameworks For 2023
Preact is built with the same core principle of React – A component-based approach with Virtual DOM while completely compatible with React. It can even use React packages without compromising on speed, performance, and leaner size. In instances where the full potential of React isn’t necessary, most developers even use React during development and switch to Preact for...
Top 15 jQuery Alternatives To Know
ReactJS is a powerful JavaScript library to create user interfaces. Developers can design easy views at each stage in the application and there is regular update and rendering for the actual components whenever there is any data alteration. It is component-driven and creates encapsulated components that manage their own state.
Top 5 JavaScript Frameworks To Learn in 2021
But according to the graph above, we can notice a decrease in interest in Preact. This might result from having many similar frameworks with the same specs, like react-lite, Inferno, etc. However, knowing a framework like Preact will be useful for your development journey.
Source: enlear.academy

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Preact.js seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 93 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Select2 mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Select2 yet. Tracking of Select2 recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Preact.js mentions (93)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Select2 and Preact.js, you can also consider the following products

Glimmer - Fast and light-weight UI components for the web

Svelte - Cybernetically enhanced web apps

Vue.js - Reactive Components for Modern Web Interfaces

Zepto - World's Simplest AI Powered Cloud-based Data Analytics Tool.

Inferno - An extremely fast React-like javascript library for building modern user interfaces.

React - A JavaScript library for building user interfaces